Growing Up In Grappenhall 1980s And 1990s

A Memory of Grappenhall.

Having grown up in Grappenhall I've seen it develop with time, but its managed to keep its identity, even though there's been a growing demand for redevelopment in the area.  

Within the space of a few streets you were able to experience several ages of British history.  Like a timeline, starting on the higher ground you have the quaint village life within the cobbled village centre.  This was no doubt made more picturesque and saved from further building by the Bridgewater canal that has acted as a kind of 'moat' since its completion in the 18th century.  

Here you will still find a village school, two pubs, a church, Village Stocks, community hall, scout hut and cricket club.  With a Post Office and second community hall in close proximity.  (The development of land at Grappenhall Heys has kept and partly restored the Walled Gardens and provided a new school, but no further amenities.)   

Moving out of the village and downhill with the sloping gradient you encouter 1930's suburbia. Bordered by Chester Road (and the site of bronze age burial on the junction of East View) and Knutsford Road. Here you will find an abundance of Mock Tudor, uniform, but each originally slightly different in detail and now moreso due to multiple extensions.  All these semis, with the odd detached properties, all had their neatly kept gardens and properties.  Here there continues to be the pleasant village Library and Euclid Park football and play area.  

Knutsford Road itself continues to have a variety of businesses, alhough all three of the 'paper shops' have now gone to be replaced by florists/ boutiques and business premises. The two petrol stations have also been replaced by residential flats. The grocery shops and one of the early 'stores' have also been replaced with a successful chinese restaurant and Kitchen design showrooms as the area has continued to become 'gentrified'.  The loss of a further post office, where I used to buy penny sweets as a child to be replaced by an estate agents and further boutique is further evidence of this 'gentrification'.

Following the gradient down further you reach a strip of land bordered by Knutsford Road and the towering railway embankment.  Within this area you come across a mixture of houses, ranging in styles from throughout the 20th Century.  My old Primary School is here, along with the clinic and until recently, a tennis club (now executive residential apartments).  This was the immediate area that I grew-up in. I have fond memories of walking to school, hearing and playing tennis (usually during the annual two-week wimbledon extravaganza) and cycling with friends.

Beyond this strip of land and at the base of the slope you reach the former Railway embankment for the Latchford Viaduct towering above you.  I remember seeing coal freight trains on these tracks from my garden and watching the reflection of the wagons in the windows of the house opposite from my bedroom when I heard them go past.  I also remember the track being removed by a train once the line was closed in the mid 1980's.  This section is now closed, but further along it has become part of the Trans Pennine Trail.  It is a shame that you cannot use the whole stretch and cross using the victorian Latchford Viaduct.  This remains almost intact, with its blue-grey engineering brick piers and supports topped by decorative sandstone coping, even though it has not been maintained/ painted for over 25 years and birch trees have taken root in its beams.  

It is a testimont to the long-sighted, over-engineering of the victorians. This is in stark contrast to the short-sightedness shown by present day engineers!  An example is the creation of the second Thelway M6 Viaduct, which obliterated the former rail tunnel under the original motorway crossing.  This rendered this once continual stretch of railway from southport to stockport unusable for any future expansion of the rail/ metrolink network into Warrington.

This Railway embankment formed the boundary between the residential and once industrial areas of Grappenhall, bordering with Latchford Locks on the Manchester Ship Canal. This provided a huge contrast, not only in architecture and landuse, but also in weather conditions. The ship canal and embankments creates its own microclimate, often being windier and cooler and probably why there are fewer trees on this side of the embankment.

What looks like a former station or level crossing building from the original railway line before the building of the Manchester Ship Canal remains as a residential property on Bradshaw Lane.  All traces of industry have now been erased from this area- a reflection of the rise and fall of UK Manufacturing Industry.  I remember Rigbys Dairy, Robertsons Steel works with its 1950's office building, a Petrol Station and garage. On the opposite side of the locks, on the Latchford side, there was an original hydrolic pump house for the locks and swing Bridge, the massive Edwardian New World Gas Cooker Factory with its elegant symmetrical office building and the British Alcan works, (which I remember once featured on a Blue Peter recycling Appeal).  Only the Aluminium works remains under another name. All remaining industry and buildings have been demolished along with most of the limited terraced properties which accompanied them.  All have, or are in the process of being redeveloped into private executive and association residential homes.  However, unlike the later executive homes built at Grappenhall Heys,  there has been provision of amenities here including a new community centre, shop and doctors practice.

It was great to experience all these different and contrasting landscapes, histories and industries within a very short distance.  This I believe has helped to kindle my early interest in History/ architecture and social demographics.  I just hope that Grappenhall can keep this variety of amenities and open space in the future.

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